How to stop my cat from stealing human food
Cats can become relentlessly determined to eat everything from baked goods to soup, forcing owners to physically lock up pantry items just to keep them safe. This constant scavenging behavior makes it nearly impossible to leave meals or snacks unattended around the house.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
How to stop my cat from stealing human food
- 1Refusing to give them human foodDid this help you?
- 2Hiding food or keeping it out of unattended areasDid this help you?
- 3Giving in occasionally to small safe pieces or letting them lick wrappersDid this help you?
- 4Hiding bread in cupboards or secure containersDid this help you?
- 5closing the kitchen doorDid this help you?
- 6Letting the cat smell things away from the dining plateDid this help you?
- 7Allowing smells only from a larger distance so the food can be moved awayDid this help you?
- 8Being careful not to present items that the cat might want to eatDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“When i forget to close kitchen door they get in and steal our cooked food , yesterday It Vomited 🤮 On our Neighbours Washed Clothes. Pee on people’s bed .”source ↗
“We adopted a cat last month and she has made herself at home (yay) she has now decided she is dead set on eating human food. We have not let her of course but she has tried to get the following from me: -tomato soup, waffles, white bread, eggs, cupcake and sausage.”source ↗
“It has turned into a problem of her stealing my food or being very forceful in trying to steal my food. She will grab my hand with claws and direct the food to her mouth.”source ↗
“I’ve found letting her smell things away from my plate has helped with her sticking her nose in my plate haha”source ↗
“We have to hide bread in our house or it end of on the floor, bag muched on by a cat then destroyed by dogs.”source ↗
Where this came up
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